State of Illinois Center, Room 9-040
Currently the viability of “regionalism,” that is, a regionalist aesthetic, is being questioned. Can a regional aesthetic remain untainted in this day of mass communication and mobility, and if so, what value does it serve? Clearly, for better or worse, Imagism has given Chicago its recent artistic identity. History, however, reveals a continuing debate between Imagism and other traditions. This panel will investigate critically the work in Emerging 1985 with special attention to the question of regionalism and the ongoing debate over the Chicago Imagist tradition and alternative expressions. Ultimately, the panel will ask: what’s new in Chicago?
Panel members: Dennis Adrian, art historian and critic; Mary Mathews Gado, art historian and critic; Thomas Lawson, painter, critic editor of Real Life Magazine; Charlotte Moser, critic; James Yood, critic, chicago editor of New Art Examiner. Judith Russi Kirshner, art historian, critic and curator will moderate.
